The Spirit of Christmas
by theyHAUNTme
Summary: It's very lively in the Grissom household Christmas morning! Let's just pretend that Sara never left, okay? Please R&R!


**The Spirit of Christmas **

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing of CSI...maybe I'll get them for Christmas!

**Summary:** There is a lively Christmas in the Grissom household. GSR. Let's just pretend Sara never left, okay?

**A/N:** Thanks to my beta, Jordan aka **thjersyjnkx33**! You rock chicky! If anyone else would like to beta, please contact me!

**A/N 2:** This was a personal challenge from my good friend Joey, aka **The Queen of Sin**. Here you go hon, hope you enjoy it! Here's the requirements I needed to meet:**  
**

1.** Christmas Fic  
**2.** Ignoring everything about Sara leaving because it upsets me when people remind me of it  
**3.** Grissom and Sara have at LEAST 2 young children  
**4.** Christmas morning (kinda like kids running in and waking them up  
because...dude? it's Christmas!)  
**5.** Over 1,500 words  
**6.** Something about the destruction of wrapping paper  
**7.** Grissom telling somebody a memory of Christmas when he was a kid**

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Christmas time is such a joyous season. There were even more blinking lights than usual in Vegas, evergreen trees were stationed all over the place, and the best part was getting a few days off of work. Of course, the children were always ecstatic because they got nearly two weeks off of school, and because they would get a ton of new toys. The kids would also wake up at an un-Godly early hour to wake up their parents because they wanted to see what they had gotten that year.

This was no different in the Grissom household. Six year old Dakota and her four year old brother Samuel were up bright and early, whether their parents liked it or not. Sprinting down the hallway and towards the master bedroom, the children giggled. Two snoring lumps were in bed, oblivious to their hyper kids. Dakota and Sam jumped into the king-sized bed, scaring the crap out of their mother and father.

"Mommy, Daddy...SANTA CAME!" the two kids shouted, bouncing up and down excitedly. "Come on, come on!"

Grissom groaned as he turned to face his two extremely active offspring. His wife also groaned, but instead, she shoved her head under the pillow before falling back to sleep. Grissom sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced at the clock, and it shone 3:45 AM in the pitch-black room. He flopped back down before asking, "Why are you guys up so early?"

"Cuz it's CHRISTMAS, Daddy!" exclaimed Sam dramatically, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Santa came last night and I wanna see what he brung me!"

"Brought," Grissom corrected quickly. "You want to see what he _brought_ you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...so come ON!"

"Bud, it's kind of early to be up, don't you think?" Grissom asked.

"But Daddy?" whined Dakota.

"Okay, how about this: you let Mommy and me sleep until six thirty, then we'll all go down?" he asked, praying his kids would accept the compromise. "And you guys can lay up here with us until then, okay? Come on, what do you say. And I promise...right when the clock hits six thirty, we'll get up."

Both kids gave an enormous sigh, but accepted their father's proposal. Grissom gently woke up his wife and said, "Sara, honey, move over...we've got visitors."

Half-asleep, Sara moved over to allow her kids to crawl under the sheets and lay down in between their parents. As soon as Grissom and Sara's heads' hit the pillows, they fell into a deep sleep. However, when the clock read six thirty, they were awaken yet again. The two adults dragged themselves out of bed. Sara went to the bathroom to freshen up, while Grissom went downstairs to prepare coffee. Dakota and Sam were told to stay on the bed until Sara was ready to come downstairs.

It seemed like hours to the young children, but their mother was ready ten minutes later. She carried little Sammy downstairs just because she could, while her eldest child ran down the stairs. When they got downstairs, Grissom was waiting for his wife with a cup of tea. She graciously accepted it and settled down on the floor in front of the tree, where presents galore were piled up. Their Christmas tree was nearly ten feet high and was shimmering with lights and an assortment of shiny ornaments. Sara smiled as she remembered the day she and her family decorated it.

She quickly snapped out of it though when Grissom asked if she was okay. She beamed brightly and nodded, scooting closer to her husband. She settled herself in his arms before she handed a gift to her son. The family always took turns at who got to open the first gift. This year, it happened to be Sam's turn.

"Oh my god," Grissom said to his wife as his son ripped off the colorful wrapping paper. "He's completely destroying that wrapping paper!"

Sara chuckled as she watched the paper fly in every direction as Sam unwrapped his gift. It was an educational computer game that he had been asking for. Dakota got to open her gift next, and it was the Barbie set she had wanted. Next, Sam unwrapped a few stuffed animals – bug stuffed animals. Dakota then opened hers and it was the complete set of Scooby Doo episodes. At six years old, she was completely obsessed with the cartoon, crime-solving dog and his friends.

**CSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSI**

It had taken nearly an hour for Dakota and Sammy to "destroy the wrapping paper" as their father put it. There were numerous gifts scattered across the living floor, and the two Grissom children were very pleased with the gifts Santa had brought. However, their parents had one more present to present them with. Grissom went outside into the garage to get it, while Sara told the kids to cover their eyes. Grissom walked back in and told them they could open their eyes. They did and saw a gray and white ball of fuzz in their dad's arms.

"Ooh!" they squealed, running up to their father, who was holding the cute Husky puppy.

"Thank you thank you THANK YOU!" the two kids screeched, bending down to pet the fluffy, adorable pup.

"Do you like her?" Grissom asked, even though he already knew the answer to that question.

"YES!"

"What are you naming her?" Sara asked them, walking over to her husband with a grin on her face.

"Hmm...She-Ra!" the two Grissom kids said in unison.

Grissom and Sara looked at each other in confusion. How the heck did they ever come up with a name like that? But, the two parents lovingly watched as Sam and Dakota played with their new puppy. Grissom smiled and asked his wife, "Have I ever told you about my most embarrassing Christmas?"

"No...do tell, though," said Sara with a smile, sitting down on the couch.

"I was eight, and my parents thought it would be funny to hide all of my real presents and put "fake" ones under the tree instead," he said. "I woke up and saw maybe only five presents under the tree. I waited patiently for my parents to wake up. When they did, they acted normally and watched me open my gifts. I think I got news socks, underwear, a horribly ugly shirt, and a few school supplies I didn't need. They told me I had the look of utmost shock on my face, and that I threw a tantrum. They then told my they were just kidding and brought out my real presents, which had been locked in a cupboard in the garage."

Sara was trying her hardest not to laugh, but was failing miserably. He told her to go ahead and laugh before she had a stroke. She did so, and laughed until tears were running down her cheeks. She could picture her husband's crestfallen face as the eight year old opened the most ridiculous gifts.

"Aw, hon!" said Sara, her face bright red from giggling. "You heart must've sank when you opened those presents! I am, however, having a hard time seeing you pitch a fit. It just seems so...un-Grissomish."

He smirked, but it turned to a smile quickly. He kissed her, and the couple watched their kids play with the Husky puppy. She-Ra was a very energetic pup, but not in a bad way. Dakota and Sam were trying to teach the pup sit, but were not very successful. Gil and Sara were amused, but were soon astonished when She-Ra sat on command. The Grissom children praised the canine by scratching her ears and giving her a puppy treat. Sara smiled, and shook her head humorously.

She could barely believe her life was this great. Her mind wandered to herself as a child, huddled in the safety of either the closet or her room. Her parents would argue continuously over absolutely nothing. Even though it was Christmas, Laura and John Sidle argued with each other. Laura tried to make her kids happy, but did not succeed.

"Sara?"

Sara blinked and shook her head, snapping back to reality. Grissom was looking at her with concern. She smiled warmly and snuggled against his warm chest. He played with her hair, as he said, "Penny for your thoughts."

She sighed and responded, "Oh, just thinking of how much I love you and the kids and how much you guys mean to me. Gil, I'm glad we don't fight."

He hugged her tightly and said, "I know, I'm glad too. I try to make you happy, and the kids.

"You do Gil," she said, caressing his cheek. "Look at them...do you think they're lovin' life?

He gazed at Dakota and Sam. They were both laughing and playing with the puppy. They had good, clean clothes to wear, food to eat, a place to sleep, and somewhere they could always call home. Grissom smiled down at his wife and said, "Yes...I do think they're happy."

"Oh, and I haven't given you your Christmas gift yet," Sara said, walking into their bedroom.

She emerged moments later, carrying a brightly colored package. He smirked and said, "Sara, you didn't have to get me anything, hon!"

She shrugged, and handed him the gift. He tenderly opened it, not shredding the paper like his children had done. He opened the box, and what he saw shocked him, but made him happy at the same time. Nestled in the tissue paper, was a soft, white baby onesie that said "I love my Daddy!"

"Are you...?"

Sara nodded, looking at her husband nervously. He beamed widely and enveloped her in his arms. He placed his hand on her flat stomach, where their fetus was growing. He kissed her passionately, and whispered, "Thank you, Sara...this is the best Christmas gift ever!"

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**A/N 3:** Hope you guys liked it! If you did, be nice and review! If you don't review, Santa's gonna put a huge lump of coal in your stocking...he sees _everything!!_ And the name of the puppy was all **The Queen of Sin**'s idea! 


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